Chilean War of Independence

The Chilean War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1826 when Chilean patriots fought for their independence from the Spanish Empire as a part of the South American Wars of Liberation.

History
In 1808, the overthrow of the Bourbon monarch Fernando VII of Spain by the French emperor Napoleon I caused a power vacuum in the Spanish Empire's possessions in the Americas, and the death of the well-respected Captain-General of Chile Luis Munoz de Guzman worsened the loss of royal authority in Chile. His successor, Francisco Garcia Carrasco, alienated the criollo elites with his crude and authoritarian manners, and a corruption case in 1809 destroyed his reputation. Inspired by the 1810 May Revolution in Argentina, and demoralized after learning that Cadiz was all that was left of Bourbon Spain during the Peninsular War, the criollo elite of Chile decided to revolt against the Spanish authorities.

On 18 September 1810, a government junta took power in Chile, and, while the junta was against independence and instead in favor of reforms from the Spanish government, that day is celebrated as Chilean Independence Day. In March 1811, 36 representatives were elected in all major cities, but the royalist faction of Chilean politics saw elections as too populist, causing the royalists to launch a mutiny. The mutiny temporarily sabotaged the elections, but the Real Audiencia of Chile was dissolved for its complicity with the mutiny, and it was replaced by a National Congress.

During this time, Peninsular War veteran Jose Miguel Carerra returned to Chile from Spain, and he took power after two coups in 1811, creating a dictatorship. In 1813, Viceroy of Peru Jose Fernando de Abascal sent an expedition under Antonio Pareja to deal with the situation in Chile, and the Spanish troops were received with applause when they landed in Concepcion. The Spanish were unable to take Santiago, however, and the able Chilean general Bernardo O'Higgins soon took supreme command of the pro-independence forces; Carrera resigned after being harassed from all sides of Chilean politics. On 14 May 1813, the Treaty of Lircay led to a ceasefire between the Chileans and Spanish, but Abascal reneged upon the treaty when he sent Mariano Osorio with another force to land at Chillan. In October 1814, in the "Disaster of Rancagua", an army of 5,000 Chilean soldiers was reduced to just 500 men after a fierce battle against the Spanish, and Osorio entered Santiago shortly after and put the rebellion of the Patria Vieja to an end.

Abascal initially confirmed Osorio as governor of Chile, but personal disagreements between the two led to Abascal instead naming Francisco Casimiro Marco del Pont as governor in 1815. Vicente San Bruno was ordered to begin a campaign of political persecution against the patriots, exiling many of them; however, these actions instead incited the patriots, and even the most moderate Chileans believed that anything less than independence was intolerable. Carrera and O'Higgins fled to the Argentine province of Mendoza, where they joined forces with Jose de San Martin; San Martin favored O'Higgins, and Carrera's influence began to wane. San Martin and O'Higgins organized an army to recross the Andes and capture Santiago, and Manuel Rodriguez Erdoiza mounted a famous guerrilla campaign, making him a romantic hero of the revolution. In 1817, the Army of the Andes crossed the Andes after much difficulty, and they decisively defeated Rafael Maroto's army at the Battle of Chacabuco on 12 February 1817. San Martin was proclaimed Supreme Director, but he declined the offer and handed the title over to O'Higgins, who would remain in that position until 1823. On 12 February 1818, O'Higgins formally declared Chilean independence.

At the same time, Joaquin de la Pezuela was installed as a new viceroy in Peru, and he sent his son-in-law Mariano Osorio to lead an expeditionary force south to Chile. Osorio's force disembarked at Concepcion and recruited a number of Mapuche Native Americans to their ranks, and, on 18 March 1818, O'Higgins' army was heavily defeated at Cancha Rayada. A false rumor spread that San Martin and O'Higgins had died, but Manuel Rodriguez rallied his soldiers by saying, "There's still a country, citizens!" He went on to serve as Supreme Director for 30 hours until O'Higgins returned and Rodriguez handed the title back to him. On 5 April 1818, San Martin defeated the Royalist army at the Battle of Maipu, and the royalists retreated to Concepcion, never again to launch a major offensive against Santiago. O'Higgins saluted San Martin as savior of the country in the "Embrace of Maipu", which secured independence for Chile and allayed all worries about internal divisions. San Martin then waged total war against bands of outlaws, royalists, and Indians who had pillaged and sacked the countryside, with neither side taking prisoners. In 1822, Vicente Benavides' band was liquidated, finally pacifying the region around Concepcion.

While San Martin campaigned against the royalist bands, O'Higgins developed a Chilean navy and placed the British admiral Thomas Cochrane in command. In 1820, Cochrane successfully attacked the fortified royalist complex of Valdivia, and he later landed Chilean troops on the Chiloe Archipelago. This effort to conquer Chiloe failed, and it would not be until 1826 that the government of Ramon Freire succeeded in liberating Chiloe, the last Spanish stronghold in Chile. O'Higgins' resignation in 1823 ended the Patria Nueva period, and Chiloe's liberation in 1826 ended the war.